Beginning in 2002, the National Commission on Energy Policy--a bipartisan group of 20 of the nation’s leading energy experts representing the highest ranks of industry, government, academia, labor, consumer and environmental protection—advised Congress, the Executive Branch, States and other policymakers regarding long-term U.S. policy.

In December 2004, the Commission released a long-term energy strategy, Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet America’s Energy Challenges based on more than 35 original research studies and two years deliberation that reached consensus. Many key elements of plan were adopted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Commission issued additional major recommendations in 2007, including specific legislative approaches to increasing US automotive fuel economy for the first time in 30 years, which were adopted into law by Congress in 2007.

The Commission identified and addressed the political and analytical barriers that have thwarted previous efforts at energy policy reform and conducted extensive outreach to government, business, NGO and other communities. By taking a bipartisan approach, and seeking to connect the expertise and objectivity of scientific research with political realities, the Commission sought to both build on and distinguish itself from past energy policy efforts.

In 2009 and 2010, the Commission focused, in particular, on three critical long-term issues: oil security, climate change, and energy infrastructure adequacy and siting.

The Commission was funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and its partners.